Health care crisis in Gaza

We, the 8 coauthors of this letter and the 59 Canadian physicians and scientists who have reviewed and endorsed it, are writing in response to 2 articles in the Mar. 17, 2009, issue of CMAJ: “Gaza’s health care system crippled before — and after” by Christopher Mason and “On the ground in the Gaza Strip” by François Dumont.

The death of noncombatant civilians in Gaza, in Israel, or in any conflict is a tragedy. However, both articles failed to point out that the large majority of the casualties in Gaza were not civilians but combatants. We also found it regrettable that neither article addressed the role of Hamas, the government elected by the citizens of Gaza, in precipitating the crisis among its own people. The Hamas military launched rockets and fired on Israeli troops from within densely populated civilian areas. Schools were booby-trapped with bombs and mosques were used as weapon storehouses. Mason claims that “ambulance movement was severely restricted,” yet he fails to indicate that Hamas used ambulances to transport its fighters. Incredibly, Hamas even used hospitals as military headquarters. Hamas fighters also created grenades out of medicine bottles and confiscated humanitarian aid directed for civilians, which contributed to the plight of its citizens.

Without the mention of these issues, the authors have not provided an accurate depiction of the events which led to the health care crisis in Gaza.